


Fatherhell

by sabershadowkat



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe, De-aged Spike, Friendship, Gen, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 22:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4454675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabershadowkat/pseuds/sabershadowkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Into every souled, redemption-seeking vampire's life, a little baby must fall...<br/>Post TWotW/TtLG</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fatherhell

**Chapter One**   
  


"Hold on!"   
  


Angel wrapped his arm around Fred, the missing physicist who'd been stuck in Pylea for five years, and held her tight to his side. In the back seat of the convertible, Cordelia did the same to Groosalugg the Brave, although it was more to cop a feel than for safety. Behind Wesley, Gunn snapped his seatbelt, leaned forward, and put his hand on the Englishman's shoulder.   
  


"Punch it, Margaret!" the black man shouted over the noise of the mystical storm.   
  


Angel nodded, lifted his foot off the brake and jammed it down on the accelerator. The convertible shot forward with a roar of the engine, kicking up grass, dirt and stones behind it. Ahead, the glowing portal loomed, a swirling, pulsing mass of magical energy waiting to take the Los Angelenos, and one 'alien,' home.   
  


Thankfully for Angel, night greeted them on the other side of the portal. So did Cordelia's scream. "Watch out!"   
  


Angel slammed on the brakes, raised his hands, and reflexively caught the thing hurling at the car from out of the sky. The impact jarred him, but he managed to cradle the brunt of the impact from whatever he'd caught.   
  


Cordelia, Gunn, and Groo all unbuckled their seatbelts and leaned forward to look over the seat. Silence filled the car as six pairs of eyes stared at the fleshy, squirming, kicking tiny thing in Angel's large hands.   
  


"Do you think the stork dropped him?" Gunn broke the stunned silence, and Fred tittered behind her hand.   
  


Groo rubbed his chiseled jaw. "Is this how you gain calves in this world? The gods drop them from the sky?"   
  


"Not usually, no," Cordelia replied. "We normally get them the old-fashioned way: fooling around in the backseat of Daddy's car." He gave her a confused look and she patted his leg. "I'll demonstrate later."   
  


"My word," was all Wesley managed to say.   
  


Angel said even less. He could only gape in disbelief at the small naked creature in his hands.   
  


"Yo, Angel," Gunn ventured. "I didn't know there were such things as vampire babies. I thought you guys only came fully grown."   
  


The squalling baby's ridged face was scrunched and there were only two teeny-tiny sharp canines in his mouth. He had no hair, just a light fuzz covering his head, and one of his eyebrows was bisected with a white scar.   
  


Angel continued to stare as Fred reached over and popped her finger in the baby's mouth. The baby immediately chomped down and almost as quickly let go with a wail. Fred squealed in pain and stuck her bloodied finger into her own mouth, her eyes wide behind her askew glasses.   
  


Her pain snapped Angel out of his stupor and he looked at her with concern. "Are you all right?" he asked over the baby's cry.   
  


Fred nodded and pulled her bit finger form her mouth. "Babies usually are- are quiet if they have something to, um, suck on. That's why I...," she trailed off with a sheepish smile and a shrug.   
  


Angel's brow furrowed as he transferred his attention back to the child. He shifted the baby, cradling him in one arm, and tried the finger technique. The vampire baby clamped down in an instant, his tiny fangs piercing Angel's skin like twin needles, and he began to rhythmically suck. The dark-haired vampire watched with rapt amazement as the baby's round cheeks pulled in and puffed back out as he drank Angel's blood. The previously scrunched face relaxed, and bright yellow eyes opened and looked at Angel.   
  


"Well, hi there," Angel said softly, causing the others to lean over the seat again. "Aren't you the funniest-looking thing I've ever seen."   
  


Cordelia whapped him on the back of the head. "Don't insult the baby, or he'll grow up needing therapy."   
  


"Actually, Cordelia," Wesley said. "Vampires do not age, therefore, this baby shall always be a...," a worried frown creased his brow, "...a baby."   
  


"Wait, does this mean we have to stake him?" Gunn asked. He whistled. "Dude, I don't know if I can do that. He's just a baby."   
  


"It's a vampire," Wesley corrected.   
  


"No one is staking anyone," Angel interrupted the argument before it began. "Wesley, take over driving. We'll discuss this more back at the hotel."   
  


"Like figuring out where he came from," Cordelia said. "And why he fell out of the sky."   
  


"And who would turn a _baby_ ," Gunn added.   
  


"I do not understand," Groo said as Angel and Wesley changed places. "Is this baby not a gift from the heavens?"   
  


"No, Groo," Cordelia said sadly. "The baby is cursed, and not in a princess-y way."   
  


The drive to the Hyperion was made in silence. The vampire baby had fallen asleep a few minutes into the ride, Angel's finger still in his mouth. Fred had tucked the blanket kept in the car around the naked child, offering him and Angel a gentle smile.   
  


When they arrived at the hotel, Cordelia made her excuses and dragged Groo to her car in order to go home. Gunn was told to go when it became obvious he wanted to check on his other friends, leaving Wesley, Fred, Angel, and the baby alone.   
  


Angel settled into his desk chair with the sleeping child while Wesley graciously showed Fred to a room. The dark-haired vampire couldn't stop staring at the tiny bundle in his arms. Who would be so cruel as to turn a baby?, he wondered, lightly brushing his finger over the ridges on the baby's brow. The baby squirmed slightly and settled again, his miniature features relaxed in sleep.   
  


With a sigh, Angel leaned back and rubbed his eyes. He felt like he hadn't slept in forever... which was quite possible. He had no clue how long had passed while he and his friends were in Pylea, and he knew he hadn't slept a wink there. Too many issues he hadn't wanted to -- literally -- face. But he had, and now he was home and holding a sleeping vampire baby in his arms.   
  


Angel dropped his hand with a weary sigh, and the blinking light on the answering machine caught his attention. Duty and responsibility won out over "fuck 'em," and he hit the playback button.   
  


"Angel, it's Buffy." The Slayer's voice echoed in the empty lobby, her words clipped and full of tension. "We might be in trouble here and may need your help. Call me as soon as you can."   
  


Angel was dialing before the message ended, his heart having dropped to his knees. The line rang once... twice... three times... fo--   
  


"Did you find him?" an anxious familiar voice said over the line.   
  


"Buffy?" Angel said worriedly. "It's Angel."   
  


"Angel?" Buffy's following words were rushed and she barely paused for a breath between them. "It's so good to hear from you, but I can't talk right now. I take it you got my message. Don't worry, we won, yay team. Right now, though, there's only a few hours until sunrise and we of the non-hospitalized still haven't found Spike yet. Glory turned him into a baby and drop-kicked him like he was a soccer ball--"   
  


Angel's heart finished its decent to his feet as he looked at the baby cradled against him.   
  


"--and now I'm frantic because we can't find him and Spike and I promised to watch each other's back, and if the sun come up and he's still a baby, he'll burn to dust, and--"   
  


"Buffy," Angel interrupted, focusing on the white scar cutting across the baby's eyebrow. "I think I may have found Spike."   
  


A long pause, then "What?"   
  


"I may have Spike," he repeated. He filled her in on what had happened and told her about the scar. Buffy was quiet as she digested the information. The baby -- Spike -- squirmed in Angel's arms, yawning widely, his tiny fangs flashing in the lamplight.   
  


"Angel," Buffy finally said, her tone soft and thoughtful. "How much of a coincidence do you think it is that you were in the right place at the right time to catch him?"   
  


Angel met the bright yellow gaze as the baby opened his eyes. A strange feeling formed in the pit of his stomach, and his voice was a bit rough as he answered, "No coincidence at all."   
  


The baby gurgled and smiled a gap-toothed smile.   
  
  
  
  
  


**Chapter Two**   
  


Wesley took the news about Spike with more aplomb than Angel.   
  


"Well then," Wesley said. "I am going home."   
  


Angel panicked and stood, his desk chair scraping on the tile floor. "You can't leave! What about Spike?"   
  


"There's nothing I can do until Buffy arrives with the books from the Watchers Council," Wesley replied, heading for the door. "I do not know who this Glory is nor what type of magicks were available to her. Rather than spend hours fruitlessly researching, I shall utilize this time by sleeping and will see you later. Goodnight."   
  


"But I don't know how to take care of a baby!"   
  


The door closing behind Wesley sounded like a gunshot.   
  


Angel swallowed nervously and looked down at the child in his arms. Spike had woken up with the noise of the closing door and was staring at him with those bright yellow eyes. Angel felt like he was being assessed, and when Spike started to cry it did nothing for the dark-haired vampire's confidence.   
  


"Shh-shh-shh," Angel held the baby closer and bounced him. The parents always did things like bouncing on the television and the babies instantly stopped crying. "Shh-shh-shh." So why wasn't Spike stopping? "Shh-shh-please-shh."   
  


Okay, Angel, the brunette thought, making a bouncing circuit around the lobby with the baby crying in his ear. Now was not the time to panic; now was the time to think logically. "Right, logically," Angel muttered. "What made the baby stop crying before?"   
  


Angel shifted Spike in his arms and stuck his finger in the baby's mouth. Chomp. Suck. "That worked," Angel commented in amusement. He sighed and shook his head, staring at Spike sucking on his finger. "You keep that up and you're going to drain me dry."   
  


Without the infant crying, it was much easier to think, and Angel decided to look at Spike like he would any other 'problem.' Which meant research. Which meant he needed his finger back to use the computer. Which meant no research.   
  


Angel collapsed into his desk chair again and gave his computer a morose glance. The Internet was a click away. How could he hold the baby, let the baby suck on his finger, and use the computer mouse and keyboard at the same time?   
  


A few minutes later, Angel's feet were propped up on another chair, Spike was sitting in the well made by the older vampire's upraised knees, and Angel had traded his right finger for his left, leaving his right hand free to use the computer mouse. "Sometimes I am just so smart," Angel told the baby.   
  


Spike burped in response.   
  


Chuckling, Angel single-finger pecked in the word "baby" into the Internet search engine and hit enter. His query resulted in eleven million websites. Groan. And he bet none of these sites would help with a baby that also happened to be a vampire.   
  


One dark brown went up. For shits and giggles, Angel typed "vampire baby" into the search engine. He hit enter. He stared at the results. There were one hundred thousand sites.   
  


It took Angel a few brain spasms to realize most of the webpages were about books, music, or movies. Several were circus freak picture pages. A couple more were about the human disease that was like vampirism.   
  


Returning to the original search results -- after making a note for the gang to check up on a few of the vampire "donors wanted" caches -- Angel started at the top of the results page and clicked on the link to The Baby Place.   
  


"Welcome to The Baby Place," the linked page announced, "the starting point for parents for information on pregnancy, birth, and babies since 1995."   
  


Things were peaceful in the lobby of the Hyperion for a time. Angel surfed while Spike sucked and snoozed. Most of the information Angel found wasn't relative to Spike, thank goodness. Human babies, it seemed, were sickly creatures that caught every illness imaginable. No wonder a lot of children hadn't survived in Angel's and Spike's times, before medicine and vaccinations came into play.   
  


"What do infants do?" one of the more relevant webpages stated. "They eat, sleep, and poop."   
  


"Well, at least you don't do the third," Angel commented to Spike, who had re-awoken and was making nonsense noises and attempting to fit his entire fist into his mouth. "I've seen the pictures. They're not pretty."   
  


Spike offered Angel his slobbered-on fist and the older vampire shook his head. "That's okay, buddy. I don't eat babies any more," he said. Returning his attention to the computer, Angel clicked to the next page, which gave more information on babies.   
  


"'As each month passes, your baby will rapidly grow not only in size but in intellect and motor skills," Angel read. "'For example, by six months, your baby should be able to sit up on his or her own. The baby can say vowel-consonant sounds and will happily "converse" with anyone. Also, during this time, your baby will be a bundle of energy and will become quite the wiggle worm when you hold him or her.'"   
  


Angel turned to Spike. "Well, you certainly do seem to be babbling like Cordelia. Should we see if you can sit up by yourself?"   
  


Carefully, Angel lifted the naked -- and wiggling -- child and sat him on the flat surface of the desk. Then Angel slowly let go until Spike was sitting upright on his own. Spike waved his chubby arms, tiny hands clenched into fists, and giggled. Angel laughed, too, and the baby froze and stared at him.   
  


Angel immediately stopped laughing and frowned in concern. He was about to search for the link on what to do if babies suddenly stopped doing everything when Spike raised his hand, pointed a finger at Angel, and started 'talking' again.   
  


"Oh, really?" Angel said, leaning forward. "You think you can just scare me like that and then point fingers? Well, let's see if you like it when I suck on _your_ finger." He opened his mouth, covered his teeth with his lips, and pretended to bite Spike's finger.   
  


Spike squealed in laughter and rocked back and forth. Angel released the baby's tiny digit and grinned. "Did you like that?" he asked in a teasing tone. Spike sort-of clapped, gurgled and babbled, and stuck his finger out again. Angel captured it between his lips and mouthed it. "Mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa..."   
  


The vampire baby squealed again, the high-pitched laughter filling the empty lobby with its joyous sound. Angel let go of Spike's finger and wrinkled his nose when Spike poked it with the wet digit. He fake growled and attacked the finger once again, melting inside with each laugh he received in response.   
  


*****   
  


Several hours later, Angel was stretched out on the bed, head propped on one fist, watching baby Spike sleep. The Internet had provided a wealth of information on how to care for a baby, with all but the health-related material prevalent to Spike.   
  


"You are so tiny," Angel said in a low voice so as not to wake Spike. "Not that you're all that big normally, but as a baby..."   
  


Angel lifted Spike's little hand and the baby's fingers closed around the brunette's thumb. Little fingers, little hands, little arms and legs and feet and toes. He even had a little penis.   
  


Angel smiled when Spike yawned and resettled, gripping the thumb tightly in his tiny fist. The dark-haired vampire knew he should be more concerned about helping Spike, but it was difficult to get motivated when this version of the other vampire was so much more pleasant than the adult one. Plus, Buffy was coming to LA and a large portion of him was gearing up to see her, building defensive walls around his heart and putting his hormones in check.   
  


Both dreading and anticipating Buffy's visit, Angel checked the pillows piled on the other side of Spike, then laid his head down with a yawn of his own. Soon, he was sleeping like the baby at his side.   
  


*****   
  


Angel tied the hem of the white tee-shirt below Spike's kicking feet and examined his handiwork. Spike waved his little arms, which were mostly hidden by the shirt sleeves, and babbled at Angel. "Right, you look... ridiculous," the brunette commented, picking up the baby. "But at least you're not naked."   
  


Spike gurgled in response, complete with spit bubbles, his yellow eyes trained on Angel.   
  


"C'mon, silly-looking," Angel said, tickling the baby on the belly as he started out of the hotel suite. "I smell chocolate coffee percolating. Do you like chocolate coffee? Angel likes chocolate coffee a lot. Yes, he does."   
  


"You do realize you sound like a moron?" Gunn rounded the hall corner, smirking as he met up with Angel. The tall black man made a face at the baby. "Angel, what did you do to him?"   
  


"I, uh, swaddled him," Angel said with a sheepish grin. "What are you doing up here?"   
  


"Coming to get you," Gunn replied as they headed towards the stairs. "A certain blond sumptin-sumptin is in the lobby. Wes is grilling her about some chick named Glory."   
  


"Glory is the one who turned Spike into a baby," Angel told the other man, trying to sound unaffected by the news of Buffy's arrival. Inside, however, it was: BUFFYBUFFYBUFFYBUFFY.   
  


"Wes said the baby is a vamp you know?"   
  


"He's Drusilla's childe," Angel said. "With Darla, the four of us used to run together."   
  


"Ah, he's family."   
  


"He's an annoyance, actually."   
  


"What do you think the definition of 'family' is?" Gunn said with a grin.   
  


They emerged in the lobby and Angel's eyes immediately sought out Buffy. She was standing at the counter, dressed in jeans and a blouse, chatting with Wesley. Gods, did she look edible, Angel thought.   
  


"Oh my god, look at you!" was Buffy's greeting as she hurried to meet Angel, only her eyes were on the baby and not him. "You're still a baby."   
  


"Uh, hi, Buffy," Angel said dryly.   
  


Buffy raised her eyes and smiled. "Hi, Angel," she greeted tenderly.   
  


Angel felt his insides jump and his trousers grow tight. He cleared his throat and glanced around the lobby. "Where's Dawn? I thought you said she was coming, too."   
  


"She's with Cordelia and some hunk. Just follow the trail of drool," she replied, her gaze dropping to the baby again. "Can I?"   
  


Angel passed Spike to her, and Buffy cradled the vampire baby in her arms. "Aren't you the cutest thing. Yes, you are. Yes, you are," she cooed at the child.   
  


"Looks like you've been replaced," Gunn whispered to Angel before he vanished into the courtyard, with Angel's glare burning a hole in his back.   
  


Fred entered the lobby, clean and wearing a pretty sundress, carrying a mug cupped in her hands. The scent of chocolate coffee became stronger and more enticing because of her. "Um, h-hi," she said shyly.   
  


"Hi," Buffy said politely, looking to Angel for introductions as she swayed gently with the baby in her arms.   
  


"Buffy, this is my good friend, Fred." He flashed Fred a conspiratorial smile. "Fred, this is Buffy."   
  


"Hello, Buffy," Fred greeted. "Do you work with Angel, too?"   
  


"Once upon a time, I did," Buffy replied, giving Angel a pointed look, complete with curious lift of her brow.   
  


Spike fussed in Buffy's arms, drawing everyone's attention. "What's wrong, sweety?" Buffy said in a mother fashion. "Are you hungry? Huh?"   
  


She shifted her hold and rubbed her finger against the baby's lips. Spike sucked the digit into his mouth, bit down, then let out a wail at the same time Buffy squeaked in surprised pain. "He bit me."   
  


"He's hungry," Angel said, taking Spike from her. The older vampire settled the baby in his arms and slipped his finger into Spike's mouth. Spike again bit down, and he stopped crying as he began to suck.   
  


"That's weird," Buffy said, wiping her already healing finger on her jeans. "If he's hungry, why didn't he drink from me? I've got it on good authority that my blood is the best." She smirked at Angel.   
  


Angel gave her a half-smile in return. "I don't know. He did the same thing last night with Fred."   
  


Realization washed over Buffy's features, and she addressed the other woman, "Fred, are you human?"   
  


"Y-yes." Fred looked to Angel for confirmation. "At least, I- I think so."   
  


"She is," Angel said.   
  


"That means Spike may still have the chip." Buffy reached out and brushed her knuckles against Spike's chubby cheek. "Glory was a big meanie, wasn't she, Spike?"   
  


"Was?"   
  


"Yeah, was," Buffy replied. She lifted her gaze, pain in her eyes. "It was a hard fight, but we won."   
  


"I'm glad," Angel said.   
  


"Angel," Wesley called to them. "Will you bring Spike over here, please?"   
  


"What's up?" Angel asked as he and Buffy joined the man. Fred waved at Angel and left, along with her delicious-smelling chocolate coffee.   
  


"I would like to take down some information about Spike," Wesley said. "Hopefully, it will assist me in finding a reversal for what Glorificus has done."   
  


"You mean there's more than one 'turn your enemy into a baby' spell?" Angel joked.   
  


"Glorificus was a god, Angel," Wesley said.   
  


Angel blinked in shock and turned to Buffy. "You fought a _god_?"   
  


Buffy shrugged. "Just another day at the office."   
  


"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.   
  


"It was close, but yeah," Buffy replied. "I'm fine, and everyone else is mostly fine, too. Well, except for Baby Spike here."

"Good," Angel said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."   
  


"If you would please put him down," Wesley instructed, breaking the potentially emotional moment.

 

Angel extracted his finger from Spike's mouth and laid him on the desk. After stripping the tee-shirt off the baby, Wesley spent the next ten minutes measuring, weighing, and taking down Spike's non-existent vitals. The tiny vampire kicked and squirmed and giggled and babbled and grabbed his toes and flashed himself indecently.   
  


Buffy produced a camera, smiled evilly, and said, "Blackmail."   
  


"I would say, by his size and behaviorisms, Spike is roughly between six and seven months in age," Wesley declared, using the same website Angel had book-marked earlier. "He 'speaks' and reacts to stimulus autonomously, such as laughing and smiling, and according to Angel, he can sit up and roll over on his own. He doesn't seem to be able to crawl yet, but as he's only been a baby for a day, he hadn't had much opportunity to do so."   
  


Wesley removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, then looked seriously at Angel and Buffy. "There is bad news, however," he said. "If we cannot find a way to turn Spike back to normal, he may very well be a seven month old forever. As a vampire, he will not have the motor development that human children have. He may never walk or talk, and will need someone to provide food, shelter, and care for him for... well, eternity, I guess."   
  


"So, you're saying... what are you saying?" Buffy asked.   
  


Wesley's jaw tightened a brief moment, then he answered, "If we can't reverse Glory's magick, it would be cruel to let him keep living."   
  


"Bullshit," Angel snapped almost instantly. "Babies, even demon babies, are innocent creatures, and I will _not_ allow any harm to come to an innocent."   
  


"Angel--" Buffy started to say, only to be cut off.   
  


"If anyone harms him, I will make their unlife an eternal hell," Angel said in a low, flat tone. His choice of words were not unnoticed. Then, with gentleness and caring, as if he'd not uttered the warning, Angel re-dressed Spike in the large tee-shirt, picked him up, and carried him out of the lobby.   
  


Angel didn't know where his protectiveness came from, but it had hit him fiercely. Spike was helpless, a _baby_ , completely innocent despite not having a soul. Babies did not possess the mental prowness to act on evil impulses. Angel refused to let anyone put down such pureness so carelessly, as if it were an injured dog and not an innocent.   
  


Cordelia, Groosalugg, and Dawn all turned when Angel entered the kitchen, bowls of ice cream in front of them. Dawn immediately jumped up. "Is that Spike?"   
  


"Yes." Angel barely stopped himself from growling at her as she approached and began to ooh and ahh at the baby.   
  


"So, what's the deal?" Cordelia asked. "Can Wesley change him back? Dawn filled us in on the whole Glory-thing, and I'm thinking it's going to take some pretty powerful mojo to turn Spike back into his evil self."   
  


"He's not evil," Dawn said. At two incredulous stares, she clarified, "Okay, he's soulless and mean sometimes, but ever since he fell in love with Buffy, he's been a helpful kind of evil."   
  


"Spike is in love with Buffy?" Angel said with calm indifference.   
  


Cordelia abruptly stood, dumped the ice cream bowls in the sink, then grabbed Groosalugg's hand. "Groo and I are going shopping with your money. Bye," she said as they quickly left the kitchen.   
  


Dawn, however, gave Angel an embarrassed look. "I suppose I shouldn't have told you that, huh?"   
  


"It's okay, Dawn," Angel said, going to the refrigerator to retrieve the container of fresh blood that he knew Cordelia would bring. He stared into the depths of the industrial-sized fridge longer than necessary before finally getting up the courage to ask, "Buffy doesn't love him back, though, does she?"   
  


Dawn laughed loudly. "Are you kidding? They're friends, at best, and that's only because Spike protected me from Glory."   
  


Angel didn't realize he'd been holding a breath until he released it. Spike and Buffy. It was laughable, now that he thought about it. Taking the blood from the fridge, he joined Dawn at the table, sitting Spike in the middle of it before taking his own chair. "So, uh... how's school?" he asked the younger Summers.   
  


"Don't know," Dawn said, teasing the baby and making him laugh as she retook her seat. "I kinda haven't been there in awhile, what with the whole fleeing from Glory. I'm supposed to go back on Monday. Buffy's going to lie and say our Grandma Bethie kicked it, and blame Giles for not calling the school."   
  


"What actually happened with Glory?" Angel asked hesitantly. "Everyone seems to know but, uh, me."   
  


Dawn launched into a story that made Angel angry that he hadn't been able to help and relieved that no one was seriously hurt. Spike seemed to be the only real casualty of the battle with the bitch-god. Even Tara, who'd had her mind sucked somehow, returned to normal when Glory had been destroyed. Which made it strange that Spike didn't return to his normal adult-sized self.   
  


Angel finished the blood, disposed of the container, and poured himself the final cup of chocolate coffee from the coffee-maker. Buffy came into the kitchen as he was sitting back down, and he tried to glare at her but failed. He could never stay mad at her for long.   
  


"Hey," the blond Slayer said tentatively. "Mind if I join you?"   
  


"Only if you promise you're not going to stake Spike." Okay, so he was still mad.   
  


"You were going to stake Spike?" Dawn gasped.   
  


"No," Buffy said firmly. "We're going to find a way to reverse what Glory did to him."   
  


"And if we don't?" Angel said.   
  


"Then it's up to you." Buffy steadily met his gaze. "You're the only one with the capabilities to take care of a vampire baby."   
  


"Why?" Angel asked.   
  


"Because no one else wants to," Buffy said bluntly.   
  


Angel was shocked. "Now _that_ is cruel."   
  


"No, it's the truth. I can't, because of my responsibility to Dawn, and no one else really even likes Spike. They just put up with him because I told them to," she said. "And I highly doubt any of your 'crew' wants the job, either."   
  


Angel was about to protest when he realized she was right. His mouth clacked shut and he frowned deeply. Dawn went back to playing with the baby, causing Spike to squeal in laughter, the happy sound filling up the kitchen.   
  


"I would take him, Angel," Buffy finally ventured, laying her hand over his. "I could easily love him while he's like this. But it's just not possible."   
  


"Forget it, he's staying with me," Angel grumped, capturing her fingers with his. "Having Spike love you is bad enough. I don't want you loving him in return."   
  


Buffy smiled. "Dawn told you, huh?"   
  


Angel nodded. "Every horrid detail. When he's himself again, I might have to rough him up."   
  


"Why? I can beat him up just as easily."   
  


"Yeah," Angel gave her a look. "But he'd probably like that."   
  


"Point."   
  


"Oh, look, big yawns," Dawn cooed, drawing the two ex-lovers' attention to the baby. Spike rubbed his eyes with his fists, yawning a second time.   
  


"Dawn, would you like to babysit while we research?" Angel asked the girl.   
  


Dawn perked up. "Cool, can I?"   
  


"Second floor, room 216," Angel told her. "The door's unlocked. I made a nest for him from the pillows on the bed."   
  


"Okay." Dawn stood and picked up Spike. "Let's go, baby-vamp. Time for nih-nih."   
  


"We'll be down here if you need us," Buffy said as Dawn headed out of the kitchen. The blond looked at Angel again and gave him a hopeful smile. "Is there any more of that chocolate coffee for me?"   
  


Angel rolled his eyes, smiled knowingly, and handed her his mug.

 

**Chapter Three**

 

Days turned into weeks turned into months of research, and no spell had been found to return Spike to normal. Wesley, with help from Willow, tried every general reversal spell they could find, to no avail. Eventually, real work intruded and other research took precedence, and finding Spike's cure was relegated to non-pressing status. The vampire was still a baby... and Angel didn't mind at all.   
  


Angel doted on Spike, he knew. But who wouldn't? They tiny vampire was precious. Each bubbling laugh and happy smile filled Angel with a sense of wonder and purpose. It was for innocents like Spike that he continued to fight the good fight. And when Spike reached for him when he returned after every battle, Angel fought that much harder.   
  


On the baby side of the scale, Spike crawled like a speedster and was constantly pulling himself up on everything. His attempts at walking usually ended with him falling on his cloth diaper-clad rear. The diaper was strictly for padding and modesty's sake. Angel and Fred, who acted as babysitter, were lucky to keep the diaper on the little nudist. Spike insisted on taking off whatever Cordelia-approved outfit Angel had dressed the child in.   
  


Spike only cried if he was hungry or hurt himself. Normally, he was a giggling, mostly bald bundle of smiles, and he had the entire Angel Investigations crew wrapped around his tiny finger. They loved him, coddled him, comforted him, and played with him. And, to Angel, he was the son the vampire never thought he'd have.   
  


Angel knocked on Fred's door and waited for her to answer. She lived in another suite on the same floor as Angel in the Hyperion. It was not only safer for her to reside on the same floor, it was convenient if Angel had to leave suddenly because of a vision.   
  


Fred was an excellent babysitter. It was obvious she adored Spike and his appearance in no way bothered her While the others adored the baby, too, his facial ridges and bright yellow eyes were instinctively off-putting to them. Humans were taught what was beautiful and what was freakish, and Spike fit on the non-pretty side things. Angel, however, thought Spike was perfect, and the older vampire wore his demon face whenever they were together.   
  


"Angel, hi," Fred greeted with a warm smile after opening her door. "I see your limbs are attached still. That's good."   
  


"Easy assignment, for once," Angel said. He looked past her into the toy-scattered suite and a wide smile stretched his lips when he saw Spike.   
  


The baby saw Angel, too, and he squeaked in happy recognition around the pacifier in his mouth. He immediately crawled to Angel, sat by the brunette's feet and lifted his arms.   
  


"Hey, big guy." Angel picked up the child and kissed his cheek. Spike tucked his head under Angel's chin, his small fingers closing around the V-collar of the brunette's shirt, and sucked loudly on his pacifier. The soft scent of baby powder filled Angel's senses as he held the baby close.   
  


"I haven't fed him yet," Fred told Angel, lightly rubbing Spike's bare back. "So he's probably hungry."   
  


"Thanks," Angel said sincerely. He leaned down and brushed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight."   
  


"'Night."   
  


Angel traversed the short distance between the suites, the doorknob to room 217 turning easily under his hand. Spike kicked his bare feet and bounced slightly as Angel switched on the lamp.   
  


"Hungry, sport?" Angel asked, stepping over the toys on the living area floor, heading for the small kitchenette. He selected one of the pre-made bottles from the refrigerator, twisted off the cap, and put it in the microwave. A few seconds later, the microwave-safe bottle of blood was warmed to body temperature.   
  


Angel attached a nipple cap to the bottle and returned to the living room. He sat down on the burgundy leather reading chair and resettled Spike in his arms. The pacifier was spat out by Spike and, babbling nonsense sounds, he reached for the bottle.   
  


"Here you go, pal." Angel tilted the bottle and held it as the baby fed. Spike's little hands tried to help hold the blood-filled bottle as usual. Angel smiled tenderly before slipping into gameface.   
  


Spike gurgled around the bottle's nipple, bounced, and pointed a finger at Angel's face. "That's right," the brunette said. "Dada's a vampire, too."   
  


As Spike fed, Angel told him about the latest case that was solved, mocking his co-workers' voices in their roles in the tale. When the bottle was empty, he set the baby on the floor in front of the BusyBox and, keeping one eye on the child, fed himself and changed into a white tank and black track pants.   
  


Angel joined Spike on the floor, stretching out on his stomach. Spike abandoned the BusyBox and crawled over to sit in front of Angel. "Dadadadada," Spike said in between blowing raspberries and patting and poking at Angel's facial ridges.   
  


"So, my little nudist," Angel addressed the diaper-clad boy. "What do you want to play with tonight?" He captured and kissed the tiny hands to peals of Spike's laughter.   
  


Wesley had been correct in his assessment of Spike's mental development, from what they were able to tell. The vampire baby recognized faces, voices, and his own name, but other than calling Angel "Dada" he could not form words. Angel had been lucky -- if Spike's predicament could be labeled as such. Spike had been transformed to an age where he was interactive with his environment. Infants younger than six months rarely did anything other than sleep, eat, and cry.   
  


With practice, one day Spike could walk. He could make it a few steps already and, since he did have the capability to learn, although it was limited, it was only a matter of time. Now, if he could only learn to keep his clothes on...   
  


They played with colorful plastic blocks for awhile. Spike would hand a block to Angel, who would add it to the tower he was building. Spike would give him another and another until there were no blocks left. Then the little vampire would knock over the tower, his infectious laughter resounding in the hotel suite, and they would start again.   
  


Angel cherished the times when it was just him and the baby. He knew he shouldn't get so attached -- Spike would return to normal eventuaally -- and he knew that with each gap-fanged smile he was a step closer to losing his soul, if his soul was able to be lost. He was iffy on that case, but it was better not to chance it. He had to damper the pure contentment he felt when he held Spike as the little one slept. Like now.   
  


Angel lay on his back with Spike sleeping soundly on his chest. Angel's large hand almost covered the baby's bottom. His other hand cupped Spike's head as he lightly held the child in place.   
  


Someone once told him there was nothing that could compare to the love between a parent and a child. They were right.   
  


*****   
  


"He's _what_?!"   
  


"Gone." Cordelia wrung her hands together, her dirty and disheveled appearance testifying to the seriousness of the situation. "He was right there, playing with the ring stacker. The phone rang, I turned to answer it, and when I looked back he was gone."   
  


The world dropped from beneath Angel's feet.   
  


"Could he just have hidden himself away?" Wesley asked as Angel stood petrified. The Englishman took the fighting axe from the vampire and set it on the counter.   
  


"I've looked everywhere," Cordelia replied, a desperate note in her voice. "I couldn't find him. Oh God, I couldn't find him."   
  


Groosalugg took Cordelia into his arms, holding her close. "We are here now. We will find the child."   
  


"I'm so sorry, Angel," Cordelia said brokenly. "I swear I wasn't neglecting him. All I did was answer the phone."   
  


Angel snapped out of his shock with a sudden surge of adrenaline. He looked at Cordelia, Groosalugg, and Wesley in turn, snapping instructions that had his co-workers scurrying from the Hyperion lobby. "Cordelia, go see if Fred is home and she just happens to have him, then check around the second floor. Groo, I want you to look around outside the hotel, in case he managed to crawl out the door. Wesley, you look in all the offices. I'll check the kitchen and the basement."   
  


Thank God it was nighttime, Angel thought, hurrying into the kitchen. Having Spike missing was terrifying enough, but if it had been day...   
  


The brunette refused to complete the thought. Cordelia did not say that she heard someone enter the hotel, so Spike had to have just crawled off. By Cordelia's appearance, the baby's hiding place was a dozy. It was obvious she'd looked long and hard for him. Spike was small, though, even for a baby, which meant he could be anywhere.   
  


Angel wished he'd left Spike with Fred, then immediately felt guilty. Cordelia was an excellent sitter. It wasn't her fault Spike was a speedy crawler. She may think Spike was freaky, but she'd never do anything to put him in danger. Besides which, Fred had gone out for the evening and Angel didn't press for a return time. When Cordelia's vision had struck, he'd simply left Spike in her care like he always did when Fred was busy.   
  


Only now Spike had disappeared and Angel was trying very hard not to fall into a full-fledged panic attack. That would do nothing to help find the missing child, even though it felt like someone had run a pole through his chest.   
  


Angel took a fortifying breath once he entered the kitchen and he made a surface recon of the industrial-sized area. Not seeing Spike right off, Angel dropped to his hands and knees, putting himself at the baby's level. He probably looked absolutely ridiculous, crawling around the kitchen. Once upon a time, it would have annoyed him; now he'd crawl over hot coals if it meant finding his son.   
  


_His son_.   
  


Angel didn't know when the vampire baby had gone from being a miniature Spike to his son, but the label felt right in his mind and on his tongue. He already referred to himself as "Dada" to the child, as did Fred. Spike had become an integral part of Angel's life in the months he'd been in the brunette's care. Angel didn't know what he was going to do once Spike returned to normal, but he knew the loss would hurt tremendously, possibly more than having to give up Buffy. But he'd cross that bridge when he came to it, because he'd spotted a little diaper-clad fanny sticking up in the air amongst the cooking pots in one of the doorless cabinets.   
  


"Spike," Angel breathed, moving the pots to reach the sleeping boy. He sank back on his heels, cradling Spike close and laughing when the baby began to cry from being disturbed. A feeling of profound relief and joy that Spike was all right swept through Angel, and he could feel tears on his cheeks.   
  


He held the baby tighter, soothing his hand along the child's bare back. He knew he should tell the others immediately, but he didn't move. He just wanted to hold Spike and reassure himself that his son was safe and unharmed.   
  


"You gave us a scare, Spike," Angel said in a tear-roughened voice. "You shouldn't go crawling off like that. People love you and worry when we don't know where you are."   
  


Spike's fussy crying tapered off and he sighed as he fell back to sleep. Angel pressed a soft kiss to the child's head and rose on shaky legs. He needed to tell the others not to worry about Spike any longer, they had something bigger to be concerned about... Angel's soul.   
  
  
  


**Chapter Four**   
  


Angel had spent one of the most miserable nights of his unlife -- hell not included -- chained in the basement, when all he wanted to do was hold Spike and reassure himself the baby was fine. Twenty-four hours had passed before Wesley released him, once it was ascertained his soul had stayed in place. Twice the dark-haired vampire had flirted with true happiness and he'd kept his soul. Angel hoped it was a trend.   
  


Spike, though, wasn't assured by Angel's not losing his soul. The baby had started to cry an hour after Angel had been freed, and he had yet to stop. The only time he was quiet was when he'd cried himself into an exhausted sleep. He barely ate, wouldn't play, wouldn't move from wherever he was put down: he just cried.   
  


Angel and the others were at wit's end. The brunette vampire tried everything he'd read off the Internet about continuously crying babies. He carried Spike around, put soothing music on the radio and Baby Mozart on the television; he'd even tried changing the child's diaper. Nothing worked.   
  


Spike couldn't be sick -- vampires didn't get ill. He hadn't hurt himself in any way Angel could see. Fred tried feeding Spike something other than blood, and the baby simply spit it out and continued to cry. It was getting so that Angel was forced to say in his suite with Spike unless his help was needed on a case, and Fred couldn't wait to give the boy back when Angel returned. Angel caught naps whenever Spike finally exhausted himself enough to sleep for a few hours.   
  


It turned out that Spike was teething. And growing.   
  


Gunn was first to notice. He'd been away for a couple weeks, helping his crew set up a new residence. He'd walked into the Hyperion and was greeted by Angel pushing a bawling Spike back and forth across the lobby in a stroller. Angel was on phone duty while the others were out working, not that he could hear the phone over Spike's constant cries.   
  


"Someone don't sound happy," Gunn commented. He backed up a step at the icy glare he received from Angel. "Woah, man. Tough night?"   
  


Angel snorted. "Understatement."   
  


"What's wrong with Little Fang?" Gunn stepped in front of the stroller and bent to look at the baby.   
  


"Don't know," Angel sighed, dragging a weary hand over his face. "He won't stop crying."   
  


"That's probably because his teeth are coming in," Gunn said, sliding his finger into Spike's mouth and rubbing the pad along the baby's gums, being careful not to get bit. "He's got a whole mouthful pushing through."   
  


Angel's brow furrowed and he rounded the stroller. "His teeth are coming in?"   
  


"Yeah," Gunn said. He shot Angel a puzzled glance. "I thought you said vampires didn't grow."   
  


"We don't, except for our hair and nails," Angel replied.   
  


"Well, then this little dude didn't get the memo because he's definitely bigger than when I last saw him," Gunn said.   
  


Angel's frown deepened and he lifted Spike from the stroller. The squalling baby didn't seem any larger to him. However, Gunn was right about the teeth. Now that Angel was looking more closely, he could see peaks of ivory cutting through Spike's lower gumline.   
  


"One of my crew had a kid, cried forever it seemed," Gunn said. "Once her teeth were in, she was the golden child. But man, while those choppers were coming through, it was a nightmare."   
  


Angel tucked the vampire baby against him and began to gently bounce. "What can I do?"   
  


"Nothing," Gunn replied with a shrug. "You can try giving him something cold to gnaw on, but mostly you just gotta wait it out."   
  


"Wait it out." Angel looked panicked as Spike upped his wailing. "I don't know if I can."   
  


Gunn laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Ah, the joys of fatherhood. I don't envy you."   
  


"Fatherhell's more like it," Angel joked, switching the squalling child to his other shoulder. Now that he was aware of it, Spike did seem a bit heavier. "Will you help me check if Spike has really grown?"   
  


"Sure," Gunn agreed. "But you only got ten minutes. After that, hasta."   
  


"That long?" Angel smiled dryly. "The others could only last four and a half."   
  


Gunn thumped his chest. "I'm from tough stock. I've survived hellbeasts and shopping with Cordelia. I can handle a crying child."   
  


He managed to stay for an entire nine minutes.   
  


Angel laughed after Gunn escaped wearing an expression of great relief. On the counter, Spike kicked and continued to cry his little eyes out.   
  


"Oh, yes, I know," Angel said to the child. "It's so horrible."   
  


He bent and pressed his mouth against Spike's bare tummy and blew a raspberry. For a brief moment, the crying stopped. Then the small hiccoughs started up again. Angel tried repeating his action, but it didn't work. Spike was off and crying again.   
  


Angel scooped up the baby and danced around the lobby like a fool, singing Barry Manilow off-key. Gunn had been right; Spike had grown. Not greatly, but enough to be a measured difference. Angel wondered if that meant his boy would continue to grow like a normal child. There wasn't a precedent for a hellgod spell cast on a vampire, turning him into a baby. Angel would have to play it by ear. But whatever happened, he would still love Spike like a son.   
  


*****   
  


Angel awoke to the sound of crying as usual. He moaned and pressed his palms to his golden eyes. When was the teething going to end? He was going out of his mind, listening to Spike cry seemingly day in and day out. Now he knew why some species ate their young.   
  


Angel let his arms drop to his sides with a sigh. He wanted to _sleep_. Or at least five minutes of silence. But the crying continued and he had no choice but to get up and face another night.   
  


The brunette opened his golden eyes and was about to sit up when he realized there was a difference in the crying. The tone was deeper and the hiccoughs a bit louder.   
  


Angel sat up quickly and looked across the room to where the baby's crib stood. "Holy mother..."   
  


Inside the crib sat a full-grown Spike, gamefaced and crying. His hair was its natural blond shade, a tangled mop on his head. From what Angel could see, all of Spike's teeth were in, a realization which made Angel giggle.   
  


Spike stopped crying and looked at Angel over the side of the crib. He lifted his arms like he did when he wanted to be picked up.   
  


Angel scrambled from the bed and over to the crib. "Spike?" he said anxiously, visually check over the blond. "Are you okay?"   
  


Spike opened and closed his hands, still reaching for Angel. Yellow teary eyes focused on the older vampire and Spike whined childishly.   
  


Angel lowered the side of the crib and leaned closer to Spike. "Spike, do you understand me?" he asked. Spike's response was to put his arms on Angel's shoulders, nuzzle his face in the crook of the brunette's neck and make hungry fussing sounds.   
  


The cloth diaper that was draped over Spike's lap fell away as Angel lifted him from the crib. The younger vampire helped in no way, fully relying on Angel to carry him. Luckily, Spike had always been on the light side, or else Angel would've dropped him. As it was, the brunette only caried him a few feet before gently settling him on the living room floor.   
  


The naked blond continued to make babyish sounds. He stuck three fingers in his mouth and gnawed on them, rocking back and forth as he made more hungry noises. Angel pushed the hair off of Spike's ridged forehead and briefly caught his gaze. The yellow eyes were wide and held an innocence that could not be faked. Somehow, Spike's body had returned to normal, but it looked like his mind was still that of a seven-month old.   
  


While pondering the ramifications of the sudden change, Angel went into the kitchen and fixed a bottle. If Spike's body had returned to normal, how far behind could his mind actually be? Would it come back as suddenly as his physical self? Although Spike had been growing, Angel hadn't expected such an abrupt change, especially since no spells had been cast that he knew of.   
  


Angel returned to the living room, warmed bottle in hand. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw Spike. Spike was on his back, babbling nonsense and trying to get his toes in his mouth, a favorite activity of his before he'd started teething. It was pretty funny to see a grown man doing it. But it did help prove that Spike wasn't pulling a fast one.   
  


Angel sat on the floor beside the prone blond and pressed the nipple on the bottle into his mouth. Spike bit down higher on the latex, but he sucked on the bottle like he'd done for the past three-quarters of a year, barely helping to hold it as he fed.   
  


There was a knock on the suite door and Wesley poked his head in. "Angel, are you-- oh."   
  


"Wesley, come in," Angel bade the other man. Spike turned his head to look at Wesley as he entered the room, but continued to feed.   
  


"Has he returned to normal?" Wesley walked over and frowned at the naked blond on the floor. "Why is he unclothed?"   
  


"Because he's still seven-months old,"Angel replied. "Only he now has an adult body."   
  


"I see...," Wesley smiled dryly, "...probably more than I should be seeing."   
  


Angel chuckled. "I couldn't get him to stay dressed before. The only thing keeping his diaper on was the pin. How much luck do you think I'll have now?"   
  


"You'll just have to acquire a larger diaper," Wesley said with amusement. He crouched beside the two vampires and studied Spike with interest. "I gather you did not witness his growth change?"   
  


"No." Angel shook his head. "He was a baby when I went to sleep and like this when I woke."   
  


"Hmm." Wesley tapped his lips. "I did not perform any recent magicks. Perhaps I should contact Ms. Rosenberg and see what she's been up to."   
  


"Good idea," Angel said. "Make sure you warn the others of Spike's size adjustment."   
  


"I will," Wesley said as he straightened.   
  


Angel looked up at the other man questioningly. "Why did you come up here, anyway?"   
  


"I came to see if you needed a break," Wesley replied. "However, I believe Spike's teething will no longer be a problem."   
  


"No. I don't think it will," Angel said with a half-grin.   
  


Wesley left as Spike finished off his bottle. Angel exchanged it for Mr. Buttons, a button-snap-belt-zip-and-tie doll, and left Spike entertaining himself while Angel fed.   
  


A few minutes later, Spike crawled into the kitchen, bare behind wiggling. It was an extremely silly sight and Angel laughed hard. The tow-headed vampire stopped at Angel's feet and raised his arms, babbling, "Dadadadadada..."   
  


Angel's heart melted. He deposited the empty blood container in the sink, bent and picked up Spike. "Ugh, you're heavy," the brunette grunted, shifting Spike into a comfortable hold.   
  


Spike laughed childishly and kicked his legs, almost causing Angel to drop him. "Woah, Nelly," Angel admonished, putting one hand on Spike's back, the other under his bottom. "No kicking. I don't want to drop you."   
  


"Nabesssfewda," Spike said nonsensically, patting the ridges on Angel's brow. The younger vampire gurgled and continued to babytalk as Angel carried him into the bedroom to get dressed.   
  


The little nudist hadn't vanished when Spike changed sizes, and Angel finally double safety-pinned a towel on Spike like a navy blue diaper. Spike attempted to take if off, too, but the tightly pinned waist prevented him from doing so, like it had when he was still baby-sized.   
  


The best part, though, was that Spike had stopped crying. Cheerful, talkative, baby Spike had returned, only bigger, and Angel thanked the Powers That Be for the reprieve. Whoever said parenting was easy was lying through their pearly whites.   
  


Spike's peals of laughter echoed in the hall as Angel left the suite. The brunette was pretending to bite his boy's nose as he carried the man-child to the elevator. They emerged in the lobby of the Hyperion, both gamefaced, smiling, and talking nonsense to each other. Wesley and Cordelia were the only two in the lobby, the former on the telephone.   
  


"Spike's a bit too skinny to be a sumo wrestler, Angel," Cordelia said as Angel put the blond on the floor.   
  


"You would rather see him naked?" Angel said. At Cordelia's grin, he shook his head. "Don't answer that."   
  


Cordelia picked up the basket of toys from beneath the counter and spread some of them around the lobby. Spike crawled to where she'd put the BusyBox and began to play with the buttons and bells, chatting happily to the cartoon character stickers on the toy.   
  


"I like his hair," Cordelia commented. "The peroxide look was so early 80's. I hope he doesn't bleach it again when his mind catches up with his oh-so-fine body."   
  


Angel gave her a look. "That's my seven-month old son you're ogling."   
  


"When you put it that way, eew, eew, eew," Cordelia shuddered and returned to work.   
  


Wesley hung up the phone and turned to Angel. "We're in luck. Willow conveyed that they have apprehended one of Glorificus's followers, who was lurking about the hellgod's former residence."   
  


"And he revealed what happened to Spike?" Angel guessed.   
  


"Partially, yes," Wesley replied. "Spike would have grown as a normal human until after puberty, but the follower knew the two part reversal spell, and he performed one part so they would not kill him. According to Willow, they bargained the second part for his safe passage out of Sunnydale."   
  


Angel looked over at the younger vampire playing on the floor. "How long do we have then?"   
  


"A few hours," Wesley said. "They're holding the follower until the bus is scheduled to depart. Then he'll finish the spell and we will be called to make certain it worked before they send him on his way."   
  


"Why didn't they call earlier, after the first part of the spell was done?"   
  


"They did," Cordelia said. "There was a message on the machine. I retrieved it while Wesley went up to see you."   
  


Angel nodded and crossed to Spike. Spike looked up at Angel, smiled widely, pointed and said, "Dada!"   
  


"That's right, champ." Angel joined the younger vampire on the floor, pulling Spike onto his lap and holding the BusyBox upright in front of them. Angel kissed the back of Spike's blond head, closed his eyes, and listened to his son's innocent laughter for the last time.   
  
  
  


*****   
  
  
  


Angel managed to dress Spike in a pair of pants when the blond fell asleep. It was his normal naptime and he was sleeping in Angel's bed, bottom in the air as usual. Angel sat in a chair beside the bed, watching him sleep.   
  


Angel brushed his finger along Spike's cheekbone. Wesley had stopped upstairs to tell him the spell had been completed, but Angel refused to disturb his boy. These were the final few moments he was going to have with his son and he wanted them to last.   
  


"I love you," Angel whispered, his heart breaking. "I'm glad whoever's in charge gave me the chance to be a father. I couldn't have asked for a better son than you, even with all the crying."   
  


Angel choked up, tears streaming from his golden eyes. Spike shifted and stretched out, and Angel pulled his hand away. He wiped away the evidence of his own crying, sensing that the blond was awakening.   
  


Yellow eyes fluttered open and were hazy for a moment before they focused on Angel. A frown appeared between Spike's brows, and he grumbled, "What're you doing here, y'poof?"   
  


"Actually, you're in my bed," Angel replied gruffly. "And I was just waiting for you to wake up, which you have, so now I'm leaving."   
  


Angel rose from the chair and headed quickly for the door before he broke down into tears again. There'd be time for that later, after Spike had gone. He had to tell Wesley the spell had worked so he could pass the information on to Willow.   
  


"Dada?"   
  


Angel froze with his hand on the doorknob at Spike's soft call. Slowly, he turned and looked at Spike, who hovered in the bedroom doorway. The rumpled blond shifted on his feet, his borrowed pants threatening to fall down.   
  


"Thanks for...," Spike trailed off, his hands fluttering nervously. He cleared his throat and met Angel's golden gaze unhesitantly. "You're a very good father," he stated, then quickly disappeared back into the bedroom.   
  


Angel was stunned. Unbelievable. Spike had remembered what had happened while he was a baby. A huge smile suddenly broke across Angel's face and he practically skipped out of the suite.   
  


His son said that he was a good father. Shanshu or not, there would never be anything more rewarding than that.   
  
  
  


**End**


End file.
